(Ivanhoe Newswire) Female athletes who’ve suffered from more than one
concussion recover differently than men or people without a history of
concussion, according to a new report. It’s estimated there are between one
and four million sports-related concussions every year in the United States.
Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center tested soccer
players because it’s a popular sport and the rules are the same for men and
women. Also, players don’t wear helmets. They found women were significantly
more symptomatic than men and they did much worse than men on reaction time
tests. Both men and women players who had a history of concussion did worse
on verbal memory testing.
The results of a concussion include temporary loss of normal brain function.
It can affect memory, judgment, reflexes, speech, balance and coordination.
Alexis Chiang Colvin, MD, co-author of the study, notes there has been a
theory that men have stronger necks and torsos and can handle blows to the
head better. However, their results don’t support that. “When we accounted
for Body Mass Index in this study, we still found a difference between males
and females,” says Colvin. “Therefore, there are differences in recovery
between genders that cannot simply be attributed to size difference.”
Given their findings, the authors urge doctors and sports coaches take an
individualized approach to treating concussion patients. They also believe
more study is needed.
SOURCE: Presented at the 2008 American Orthopaedic Society for Sports
Medicine Annual Meeting, July 10-13
